Interpretive Summary: Genetic differences between individuals contribute to a large degree to the observed or measured differences between any two people. There are numerous examples where the effect of the genetic difference is carried out via a differential response to some aspect of the environment – be that diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, sleep, oxygen tension (altitude of residence), or any of a whole host of other factors. We have mined the scientific literature in order to collect in one central repository all known examples of a genetic variant that direct just such a differential response to diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors in a manner pertinent to nutrition-based diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Over 520 such examples are now collected into a single database. This database will serve as an important resource to researchers in genetics and nutrition in order to gain an understanding of which points in the human genome are sensitive to variations in diet, physical activity and alcohol use, among other lifestyle choices.

Technical Abstract:
As the role of the environment – diet, exercise, alcohol and tobacco use and sleep among others – is accorded a more prominent role in modifying the relationship between genetic variants and clinical measures of disease, consideration of gene-environment (GxE) interactions is a must. To facilitate incorporation of GxE interactions into single-gene and genome-wide association studies, we have compiled from the literature a database of GxE interactions relevant to nutrition, blood lipids, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Over 520 such interactions are now incorporated into a single database, along with over 1100 instances where a lack of statistical significance was found. This database will serve as an important resource to researchers in genetics and nutrition in order gain an understanding of which points in the human genome are sensitive to variations in diet, physical activity and alcohol use, among other lifestyle choices.